Timing And Frequency Of Antenatal Care Utilization And Type Of Place Of Delivery In Ghana

ABSTRACT High infant and maternal mortality rates are major public health concerns in developing countries including Ghana. Most of these deaths are caused by pregnancy related complications. In Ghana, about 57 percent of women in their reproductive ages had Facility Based Deliveries (GSS, 2008) as against 95 percent who received antenatal care. This is therefore not enough to achieve MDGs 4 and 5. Currently maternal mortality is estimated to be 350 death per 100 000 live births meanwhile, the MDG 5 seeks to reduce MMR of 185 deaths per 100 000 live births by the year 2015. Use of maternal health services especially during pregnancy and delivery is an effective channel through which maternal morbidity and mortality as well as infant mortality can be reduced, especially in places where the general health status of women is poor. The focus of this study was to examine if timing and frequency of ANC utilisation enhances place of deliver. Using a secondary data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this study established that age, education, birth order, household wealth and health insurance coverage had strong influence on place of delivery. There also exist considerable variations between geographical locations of respondents and place of delivery, where rural dwellers are less likely to have Facility Based Delivery compared to their counterparts in the urban areas. The relationship between timing of ANC and place of delivery is however inconclusive and same applied to marital status and place of delivery. It again emerged from the study that women who had complete antenatal care services (OR = 4.056 CI = 1.963-8.384) were more likely to deliver at health facilities compared to those women who do not make the required number of visits as recommended by the World Health Organization. The study therefore concludes that, professionals attendants should be trained to handle rural dwellers differently; by making Facility Based Delivery more appealing to the low educated. Again, the Government of Ghana and the Ministry of Health should motivate professional staffs to accept postings to rural areas.